Spring suspension for road-vehicles.



R. G. HENRY,

SPRING SUSPENSION FOR ROAD' VEHICLES.

APPLICATION man Aums. 19u.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I INVENTORL' "R. G. HENRY.

SPRING SUSPENSION FOR ROAD VEHICLES.

, A l APPLICATION FILED AUG- 8| 1917. l ,261,l272. Patented Apr.

i 2 sHEzw-SH EET 2.

ne n -n ROBERT G. HENRY, OF'AKLAND, CALIFORNIA, .ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE F. VOIGHT, 0F

- SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

SPRING SUSPENSION FOB. ROAD-VEHICLES.

application med'august s, 1917. serial no. mazos.

To all whom t may concern. y

Be it known. that I, ROBERT G. HENRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Spring Suspensions for Road-Vehicles, of which the following is' a specication.

than is the normal leaf spring suspension.l

With the foregoing'and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangementof parts and. in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a rear elevation of the righthand side of an automobile (with the body removed), showing my invention applied thereon.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a portion of my invention on line a a Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a portion of,

the invention.

Fig. L.tis a sectional plan view of a portion of the invention on line b Z, Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view of a portion of the invention on line c c, Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a section of a portion of the invention .on line al d, Fig. 1.

Like parts are designated by like numerals in the several figures. Y

I have shown my invention as applied to an automobile of the cross spring suspension type, and have shown it applied only to the right-hand end of the rear axle. llt would of course, be obvious that the invention might equally well be applied to other types of automobiles, and to the left-hand end of the axle as well as to the right-hand A Specification of Letters Patent.

Aoscillatory lever 8, the arms Patented Apr. 2, i913.

end and to the front as well as to the rear axle of any of them.

1 is a road vehicle frame supported by av principal leaf spring 2. 3 is the axle housing, 4 an axle journaled in the housing 3 and supported by a wheel 5. 6 is a brake drum disposed at outer end of the housing 3 and' integral therewith. (In order to facilitate in designating certain parts of the automobile, the housing 3, axle 4 and brake drum 6, will hereinafter be designated as the axle-assembly.) l To the upper side of the axle-assembly between the outer end of the latter and the outer end of theleaf spring 2, is xedly secured'a bracket 7 provided with a Ahorizontal opening 7a for journaling a pivot pin '10. To the pivot pin 10 is secured the outer and forked end of an forming the fork of said forked end being designated by the numerals 9 9. rThe inner or free end of the lever 8 isalso forked as indicated by the arms -11 11,. which arms have at their free ends openings 12 12. Into the openings 12 12 are hooked the free or depending ends 13 13 of a connecting yoke 14 straddling and being supported by the frame 1.- rThe outer end of the lever 8 being pivotally supported by the bracket 7, it is obvious that the inner end of the lever may move upwardly and downwardly I with the upward and downward movements of the frame 1.1 v

Through the arms 9 9 are horizontally extending openings 9a 9a, in 'which openings are journaled two oppositely disposed trunnions' 19 19 extending horizontally outwardly from a cup-shaped spring seat 16 provided with an upstanding annular marginal flange' 17 and a central stud 18, which stud has a central opening 18%l forming a sliding bearing for a plunger 20, which plunger has a nut 29 threadedly' engaging its upper end.

The cup-shaped spring seat 16 is supported by the lever 8 by means of the trunnions 19 19 and is oscillatable relative to the lever, through a. vertical plane.

Upon the spring seat 16, with its lower end inside the ange 17, is disposed a spiral compression spring 27. Upon the upper end of the spring 27 is disposeda washer 28 having a central opening 28a through which extends the upper end of the plunger 20, the nut 29 seating upon the washer.

l (iti The arrangement being such that the spring 16 resiliently supports the plunger 20.

'llhe lower end of the plunger 20 is provided with a cross trunnion 20il having a horizontal opening 20", through which opening extends a pivot pin 21 supporting at each end links 22 22,- which linkssupport a second pivot pin 23 extending through a horizontal opening 2A in the end of the leaf spring 2.

The pivot pins 21 and 23 are tted in the openings 2O" and 24 respectively, so that they may rotate therein, permitting the leaf spring 2 to move endwise of itself relative to the trunnion 20, and the pivoting of the spring seat 16 on the lever '8, permits the plunger 20 to move longitidinally of itself in line extending parallel with the links 22 22.

25 is an inverted cup-shaped covering for the spring 27 and may be secured to flange 17 by means of screws 26.

'llhe plunger 20 is movable upwardly and downwardly relativeA to the spring seat 16 with and against the tension of the spiral spring 27.-

rlhe function 'of the spiral spring 27 is to 'resiliently support the end of the leaf spring 2, and the principal reason why ll support the free end of the lever 8 by the automobile frame is that by doing so the lever exerts a certain downward pull or pressure on same, which downward pull or pressure may be likened in a manner, to a load placed on the machine and it prevents to a great extent, the up-bound of the vehicle body when one of the wheels passes over an obstruction.

What ll claim is-- 1. A spring suspension for road vehicles, comprising a principal leaf spring, an axleassembly, a lever p1voted at one end to the axle-assembly between the outer end of the latter and the outer end of the principal leaf spring, a portion of said lever overhanging an outer section of the principal leaf spring and extending in a general direction therewith, the free end of the lever being forked, a ,support movable vertically relative to the axle-assembly, a connection between the free ends of said fork and said support, an

auxiliary spring supported by the lever intermediate its ends, and a pivotal connection between said auxiliary spring and the outer end of the principal leaf spring,

2. A spring suspension for road vehicles,

- comprising ay principal leaf spring, an axleassembly, a lever plvoted at one end to the .axle-assembly between the outer end of the latter and the outer end of the princpal leaf spring, the intermediate section of the lever being disposed above the princi al -leaf spring and extending in a general irection therewith, the inner or free end of the lever termmatmg in a pair of arms, a suprt aaoaier vbeing disposed above the-leaf spring, the

free end of the leverv terminating in a pair lof arms extending parallel to each other,

one of said arms being disposed at one side of the leaf spring and the other of said arms being disposed at the opposite side of said leaf spring, a support movable upwardly and downwardly relative to the axle-assembly, a pair of nonresilientlinks having their upper ends connected to said support and 'their lower ends exiblv coupled to the free ends of said arms, and a connection between the outer end of the leaf spring and the lever intermediate its ends,

4f. A spring suspension ,for road vehicles, comprising a principal leaf spring, an axleassembly, an oscillatory lever-pivoted at one end to the axle-assembly between the outer end of the latter and the outer end of the leaf spring, a section of the lever being disposed above the leaf spring, a support movable upwardly and downwardly relative to the axle-assembly, a connection between the free end of thelever and said support, an oscillatory spring seat carried by the lever intermediate its ends, a spiral spring supported by said spring seat, and a connection between said spiral spring and .the outer end of the principal leaf spring.

5. A sprmg suspension for roadl vehicles, comprising a principal leaf spring, an axleassembly, an oscillatory lever pivoted at one end to the axle-assembly, va connection loetween the free end of the lever and the vehicle frame, a spring seat supported by the lever intermediate lts' ends and movable relative thereto, a spiral compression spring supported by said spring seat, and a connection between said spiral' spring and the outer end ofthe principal leaf spring.

6. A spring suspension for road vehicles, comprising a principal leaf spring, an axleassembly, an oscillatory `lever pivoted at one end to theaxle-assembly, a connection between the free endv of the lever and the vehicle frame, a sprin seat pivotally' supported by the lever intermediate its ends, and a resilient connection between said cipal leaf spring.

7. A spring suspension for road vehicles,

- inclinar assembly, an oscillatory lever pivoted at spring seat and resiliently supporting one one end to the axle-assembly, a support, the end of the vehicles principal leaf spring. support being movable upwardly and down- 10. lln a device of the character described, wardly relative to the axle-assembly, a conthe combination with an oscillatory lever 5 nectonbetween the free end of the lever having one end pivotally supported by the 3@ and said support, an element oscillatorily axle-assembly and its other end connected supported by the lever intermediate its ends, to a support movable upwardly and downand a resilient connection between said elewardly relative to the axle-assembly, of a ment and the outer end of the principal spring seat supported by the lever interme- 10 leaf spring.

8. lin a device of the character described, thereto, the spring seat carrying a spiral the combination with an oscillatory lever compression spring arranged to yieldingly pivoted at one end to the axle-assembly and support one end of a leaf spring., having a relatively movable support for its 11. In a device of the character described,

'15 other end, of a spring seat supported by the combination with an oseillatory lever 4f@ the lever intermediate its ends and oscillathaving one end pivotally supported by the able relativeto the lever. axle-assembly and its other end supported 9. In a device of the character described, by a relatively movable support, of an oscilthe combination with an oscillatory lever latory spring seat carried by the lever inter- 20 having one end pivotally supported by the mediate its ends, the spring seat having a 45 axle-assembly and its other end supported spiral compression .spring seated thereon, by the vehicle frame, of a spring seat 'sup-n the spiral spring being adapted for resilported by the lever intermediate its ends iently supporting the outer end of the ve and oscillatable relatively thereto, and a hicles principal leaf s ring.

25 spiral compression .spring carried by said ROBERT G. HENRY,

diate its ends and oscillatable relatively 35, 

